San Francisco Little League (SFLL) is a long term partner of PCA’s and both share a commitment to making sports a positive experience for all youth.

Kids from every demographic, of varying abilities, and from all over the City play in the league and their main objectives are to have balanced teams where kids develop their baseball/softball skills through proper coaching in a positive fashion, make new friends and, most importantly, have fun all along the way.  They offer playing opportunities for kids from Kindergarten through Middle School and also offer a Challenger Division for boys and girls who have a physical or cognitive disability and would like the opportunity to play baseball.

The success of the program has been based on the hard work of the volunteers, led by a local Board of Directors who are also all volunteers. 

We talked with Kath Gillespie, President of the San Francisco Little League and James Nash, Board Member and Director, Coach Training and Education about how they are creating a winning team both on and off the field.

Kath, when was SFLL started? 

The SFLL program started in 1996 with just a couple of teams and we now have about 100 teams with approximately 1,000 players in each of our Spring and Fall programs. Since our inception, our core mission and values have stayed the same - to get kids out playing ball which is now an even more critical mission given how much kids are on handheld devices.   

Kath, how long have you been with SFLL and what is your role?

I joined in 2019 when I was looking for a sports league for my son.  I was already familiar with the program and the pedagogy behind Little League and knew they had the right sort of approach and I was also glad they were a volunteer organization.  I saw the program as an opportunity for my child to learn and to be supported and likewise saw an opportunity for myself and my husband to get involved. That is why we chose this program over some of the other baseball programs that were out there.  I loved the idea that this Little League program was dedicated to getting kids out to play and supporting them where they are, and creating  teams of equal talent. I also love the opportunity the league has given me to grow and I never would have imagined that I would be elected president of the board 4 years after I started to volunteer! 

James, how did you get involved with SFLL?

I joined in 2013 as an assistant coach for my oldest son, and I found out I love coaching.  What began as a fun father/son activity turned into a big part of my life: I’ve been a head coach every season since then, and I’ll probably keep coaching even after my own kids are grown.  It’s such an amazing feeling watching kids get better at something, helping them build confidence in an activity — in this case baseball — and seeing how that confidence in one area of sports translates into so many other parts of their personality.  Kids are not going to remember wins and losses, they are not going to remember particular teams or trophies or championships, they may not even remember particular coaches, but they will remember the way they felt as a kid playing sports.  Our goal in SFLL is to make that a positive experience, to give kids the tools they need to compete, and to support them through wins and losses, successes and failures.  When kids play sports in that kind of positive environment, when they’re given the opportunity to work hard, try their best, and know their coaches and parents and teammates have their back even when they fail — it builds confidence I believe they can carry with them long after the baseball season is forgotten.

James, Kath talked about the SFLL approach to teams with equal talent – can you explain?

Kath tell me about your work with PCA.  

We began working with PCA in 2006 and are proud to have worked with PCA longer than any other Little League. We chose the PCA Double Goal Coach as  a prerequisite for entering the program as a coach because it helps give everybody a toolkit they can use to meet each child at their various levels.  We have expanded our work with PCA over the years and this past February added a 2-day conference which offered training for coaches, athletes, and parents.

I was thrilled to see how the training helps kids. On the first day, I saw a child show up and he was very closed off and apprehensive because the friend he thought was going to be there did not attend. I told him I was confident that in a couple of minutes he was going to have a whole room full of friends because I know all these Little Leaguers and they are really great people and indeed by the end of the training the child was happy and talking loudly with confidence!

The PCA athlete training, which we offered optionally to kids in February was such a success we now will require it for all the kids selected to be on All-Stars teams. We learned so much at our February conference that we are absolutely going to do it again next season. We have 11 leagues in our district and are eager to find ways we can collaborate and share this experience with them. Especially as we compete with teams outside our district in All-Stars, this is a great opportunity for everyone to benefit from the same training.

I think a lot about ways we as a league can share the positive sports environment we are cultivating at SFLL across the city of San Francisco and with our peers in Little League District 3. And I think other leaders are noticing the impact our efforts are having on our coach training program and our programming as a whole and are interested to learn more about what has been working for us. We are all having the same issues like finding volunteers, player retention, and competing with travel programs of one kind or another. I feel if you want people to show up consistently you have to give them something compelling to show up for. If you want to have more people coaching the way that you want, then give them more opportunities to learn and embrace what you want them to teach. And above and beyond anything for our volunteers, give them the opportunity to grow within the role they are doing in order for them to feel rewarded because otherwise, what do you have to offer a volunteer? You do not pay them for their services, you compensate them through all the positive and gratifying experiences you can give them through their volunteerism.

James you have coached 5 All-Star teams and are on the All-Star committee.  What is it like playing with teams outside your district that have not been through PCA training?

Little League All-Stars is the best youth sports experience I’ve ever seen.  I’ve watched kids go through that program, and they still remember it vividly in high school and college.  At the same time, it’s challenging and very competitive, not just for the players, but especially for the coaches.  We work hard in SFLL to encourage our coaches to think of each other as partners, not opponents: we’re the adults in the room helping the kids have a great game.  That’s a lot harder in a tournament when the pressure ramps up significantly, and when you’ve never met the opposing coaches, and when the other coaches may have different or no training in working with kids.  Kath and I have been talking about how wonderful it would be if all the All-Stars coaches had a PCA background and we hope to start by getting coaches from our district together for PCA training this summer.  

Thanks to Kath, James, and the entire SFLL community for creating such a special program in San Francisco.